Cuomo bullies schools, teachers with education plan

In Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed 2015 budget, he outlines his plans to reform New York's educational system. Or, should I say, he outlines his plan to destroy education on our state, "bust" the New York State United Teachers union and ultimately all public unions.

Cuomo has rarely set foot in a public school. How can he possibly know what needs to be done to improve them? In his plan, the governor proposes that standardized test results will count for 50 percent of a teacher's overall rating. These tests are purchased by a private publishing company that the state approves. The governor is also refusing to provide projections for school aid unless districts agree to support this. Districts rely on these projections to build their budgets for the following year.

All students do not and will not perform their best on standardized tests when they know that the results don't have any bearing on their overall average. Making it count for half of a teacher's overall evaluation score shows a blatant lack of understanding about our profession. If a politician's approval rating falls below 50 percent, why don't they get fired? Students that receive a low 2 or below on the tests are scheduled for academic intervention services for the following school year. However, the raw score that determines this isn't identified by state education officials until after the test has been given. It's a moving target. And schools don't receive this information until the following fall, after scheduling for that year has been completed — not very useful.

Withholding state aid projections unless districts agree to these "reforms" is the equivalent of a 3-year-old throwing a tantrum unless he gets what he wants. This is in addition to cutting property tax rates — the main source of funding for school districts — that are already low. This is no way for a governor to behave. This is a blatant attempt to force districts to give in, and to break the union and hire new, inexperienced teachers that can be paid less.

Cuomo doesn't care about improving education in this state, nor does he care about the rights of any workers. Cuomo's attack on teachers' rights is an attack on the basic labor rights of all workers. According to Mario Cilento, president of the New York State AFL-CIO, "Increasing tenure requirements is a rollback of due process rights and ultimately will dissuade teachers from speaking out and advocating for the children they have dedicated their lives to educating. The proposal to tear up teacher collective bargaining agreements in failing public schools is a slap at the entire labor movement and ignores the plethora of socio-economic and other factors that impact educational performance."

Write your elected officials and urge them to vote "no" on this proposed budget unless these proposals are removed. It's time for us to stop Cuomo from bullying our schools and kids. It's time to speak up.

Carpenter is a Horseheads resident.